US government orders containers to be removed from the Arizona-Sonora border

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FILE - Border Patrol agents patrol along a line of shipping containers stacked near the border on Aug. 23, 2022, near Yuma, Ariz. The Cocopah Indian Tribe is welcoming the federal government's call for the state of Arizona to remove a series of double-stacked shipping containers placed along the U.S.-Mexico border near the desert city of Yuma, saying they are unauthorized and violate U.S. law. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File) ASSOCIATED PRESS

The United States federal government is demanding the state of Arizona remove double-stacked shipping containers placed to fill gaps in the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying they are unauthorized and violate U.S. law.

The Cocopah Indian Tribe in southwestern Arizona welcomed the call to take down the containers in the latest rift between the Biden administration and Republican-led border states over how to prevent illegal border crossings.

The Bureau of Reclamation also demanded in last week’s letter that no new containers be placed. It said the bureau wants to prevent conflicts with two federal contracts that have been awarded and two more still pending to fill border wall gaps near the Morelos Dam in the Yuma, Arizona, area.

“The unauthorized placement of those containers constitutes a violation of federal law and is a trespass against the United States,” the letter states. “That trespass is harming federal lands and resources and impeding Reclamation’s ability to perform its mission.”

There was no immediate response Monday from Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s office, but it said in the past it would remove the containers if the U.S. government starts construction to fill the gaps.

The tribe complained last month that the state of Arizona acted against its wishes by placing 42 of the double stacks on its land near Yuma to halt illegal border crossings in an area that has become a major entry point for migrants.

“We believe the Bureau is taking the necessary and appropriate action to resolve this issue,” the Cocopah tribe said in a statement distributed Monday. “Beyond that, we will continue working side-by-side with local, state, and federal law enforcement on securing the border.”

Ducey ordered the installation of more than 100 double-stacked containers that were placed over the summer, saying he couldn’t wait for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to award the contracts it had announced for work to fill the gaps in the border wall in the Yuma area.

Source: Prensa Arizona

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